It's a puzzler

22 August 2010 11:09
Neil Lennon sees a lot of himself in Scott Brown which makes him annoyed when his captain gets criticised. Celtic could be without Cha Du-Ri for the visit of St Mirren and the defender will undergo a late fitness test as he has a hamstring problem. There will be no debut for new signing Emilio Izaguirre, who has returned to his native Honduras to complete the paperwork of his move. Andreas Hinkel will miss the next nine months after sustaining cruciate ligament damage to his right knee in training. Neil Lennon is trying to call a halt to the ongoing debate about his captain Scott Brown's value to the team. Lennon is angry that Brown, bought from Hibs in the summer of 2007 for a fee of £4.4million, is still the subject of repeated criticism that the club overpaid for his services. Brown won the SPFA Player of the Year prize in 2009 which seemed to silence his doubters for a while, but his form was more uneven last season which reopened the debate about how much he does for Celtic. Lennon, though, has never questioned his skipper's contribution since taking charge of the club. He said: "There's this apparent conundrum about Browny, but I don't see where all the criticism comes from at times. Since I've taken over he's been very consistent and again pre-season and coming into the season he's been very good. He's a very strong player for me and I thought as the Utrecht game went on he got better and better so I've no worries or qualms about his performances since I've taken over and I think there's more to come from him, as well.'' Lennon says he now has the kind of dressing-room he has long wanted to have at his disposal, with Brown typical of the type of character he likes to see lining up on his side. The Celtic manager has be busy bringing in players from all over the world, but the one thing they have in common is the way they go about their football. This Celtic team is starting to reflect Lennon's own image, but he says the real test is yet to come as first impressions can be misleading at this stage of the season. Lennon went on: "There's a good spirit among the players, we've got good personalities. I like their character and what they've brought to the club, but then I liked the nucleus of the squad we had last year as well so there's a good balance and blend there. It's very early for clear-cut opinions, until their backs are against the wall we won't know what character they will have, but the early signs have been promising.''

Source: FOOTYMAD